Possum Living

How to Live Well Without a Job and with (Almost) No Money

By: Dolly Freed

Narrated by: Dolly Freed, Paige Williams

In the 1970s, Dolly Freed lived off the land dirt cheap and plum easy. Living in their own house on a half-acre lot outside of Philadelphia for almost five years, Dolly and her father produced their own food and drink and spent roughly $700 each per year. Thirty years later, Dolly Freed's Possum Living is as fascinating and pertinent as it was in 1978. Tin House is reissuing the survivalist classic with a foreword by David Gates and an afterword by the author.

After discussing reasons why you should or shouldn't give up your job, Possum Living gives you details about the cheapest ways with the best results to buy and maintain your home, dress well, cope with the law, stay healthy, and keep up a middle-class facade whether you live in the city, in the suburbs, or in a small town.

In a delightful, straightforward style, Dolly Freed explains how to be lazy, proud, miserly, and honest, live well and enjoy leisure. She shares her knowledge for what you do need - your own home, for example - and what you don't need, such as doctors, lawyers, and insurance. Through her own example, Dolly hopes to inspire you to do some independent thinking about how economics affect the course of your life now and may do so in the coming "age of shortages". If you ever wondered what it would be like to be in greater control of your own life, Possum Living will show you and help you do it for yourself.

©1978 Dolly Freed (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Compulsively readable…[In] this strange, engaging hymn to the laid-back life now, in 2010, one message comes out loud and clear. As the 18-year-old sage Dolly Freed wrote: ‘I refuse to spend the first 60 years of my life worrying about the last 20.’" (New York Times)

"An elegant memoir." (Philadelphia City Paper)

Full of personality

Other than listening to the recipes (which got a bit tedious - would be better in printed form) i thoroughly enjoyed this book. I am so grateful to the author for coming back to read her own book. some of the best parts came in the afterward - listen to the end!

Thought I was frugal until I read this...

A possum (and Dolly) can live anywhere, hence the title of the book. She and her father managed to live an entirely self-sufficient life without employment or welfare. Of course you can't live independently if you have a "normal" outlook, which is the crux of the matter. The book is a fascinating account, written when Dolly was 18, of how she and her father spent their days. She shares her can-do attitude as well as practical details and recipes. Her straightforward enthusiasm makes the book easy listening, regardless of whether she is talking about how to catch, kill, and prepare a turtle for cooking or how to work up to running miles at full speed. She freely acknowledges that we might not all want to do these things. It's understood that she is just letting us know we can have choices.

But there's more. I couldn't help wondering what kind of adult Dolly would grow into - would she live with her father forever? So for me, the most interesting part was at the end. Dolly gives her perspective on the book 30 years on, and tells us what happened to her between then and now. Listen to the very end. There is also an interesting article about her by journalist Paige Williams, and a commentary by novelist David Gates, who based a character on Dolly but clearly doesn't "get" possum living. Neither will all listeners, but that doesn't mean they won't find the book thought-provoking.

What a treat!

Would you consider the audio edition of Possum Living to be better than the print version?

I do! The audio version of Possum Living gives you a one on one (though one-sided) conversation with an extremely wise, capable, fearless, and young, woman at the start of a remarkable life.

What other book might you compare Possum Living to and why?

The Foxfire publications are the closest comparison I can think of.

What does Dolly Freed and Paige Williams bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Dolly's voice provides just the right touch of region; her accent is transporting. The afterward sums up a life intentionally lived and lived well.

Just Boring

Just boring.Some fairly good information. However, nothing explained very well. Not enough details..Not very exciting or entertaining. Just boring...I want a refund or exchange for a more interesting book
.

Living like a possum

I enjoyed this book. It just goes to show that by changing how necessities are viewed can change your life. It also underscores a the point that if your home is paid-off, you really don't need that much money.

With no rent and no mortgage it is possible to have a lot of free time to do and learn the things that interest you. One question, that came to me was: Why am I working so hard? For money? And, would it be better to have less money and more free time?

I do wonder if possum living is possible today. In southern California where I life, I'm not sure. In other areas of the USA, I think it might be possible.

When reading a book, I try to take the good and apply what I can to my own life. I remember being on a farm as a child, and the book brought back some of those memories.

RedNeck how to book.

I loved it. She has a way of bringing words to life especially being the nearator of the book as well as it's aurthor. I don't agree with all over her previous morals, but got a good laugh at some of her descriptions in her "Law" chapter. The moonshine chapter could be utitlized also as an alternative energy source.
I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

Horrible.

This book is all about how to rip people off by squatting on property that isn’t theirs, not pay taxes but still utilize the things our taxes pay for—in example the post office and library, etc., and threaten lawyers and realtors with bodily harm so they don’t have to pay them what is owed. It’s not really about living a sustainable lifestyle like it implies.

Frugality by breaking the law, poisoning animals

Really, really awful. There are better books on the market that advocate legal means to save money. Someone owes you money? Is suing you? Just call and threaten them or poison their dog. I don't care if her 2010 self says she does not agree with doing this anymore, it should never had been said, let alone reprinted. Don't want to pay taxes? Don't. She does not mention how much money or jail time it will cost you when you are caught. Too many baby bunnies? Just drown a few, "it's not as cruel as it sounds." Oh? I grew up on a farm, and though we were poor, we never drowned our baby rabbits. We DID hand raise the extras and gave them away as pets. Much of what Freed says is just not legal, moral, or practical. Those things that ARE of interest and worth can be found in other, better books. The Tightwad Gazette comes to mind, but there are others. Pass on this one.

Really really bad

Some pretty scary and small minded views disguised as a bushcraft and number 8 wire type book. It's a shame because some of the ideas of lite living were appealing.

Awful

Just don't.
I was expecting a story of people minimizing their lifestyles realistically. Instead I got suggestions to eat "long pig" - or human flesh to stay alive in an emergency. Don't waste your time.